PESHAWAR: Following public outcry from his own constituency over drone attacks, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Thursday hinted at introducing legislation to criminalise collateral damage in such incidents.

The development comes after a meeting of lawmakers from the respective districts decided that the issue would be taken up in the provincial assembly, while vowing to put up a joint front to protect civilians.

“We held a meeting on bringing a law against drone attacks, but ‘they’ have protected themselves in the Constitution against drone attacks … However, we can legislate against collateral damage,” Afridi said on Thursday without specifying further. He made the remarks while speaking during a session of the KP Assembly summoned to discuss the issue.

CM Afridi alleged that whenever he protested against a drone strike, he received a message that “they” understood the situation and were sorry. The chief minister questioned why such incidents never targeted sensitive installations and only targeted the people of the province.

In his fiery speech, CM Afridi also questioned the results of military operations during the last 20 years. He said that not just KP but the entire country had been destroyed due to decisions taken behind closed doors.

The chief minister also termed the Action in Aid of Civil Power Ordinance a “draconian law”.

The Action in Aid of Civil Power Ordinance, passed in 2019, authorises the armed forces to detain an individual at any time and anywhere in the province without assigning any reason and without producing the accused before a court of law.

In his speech, Afridi said that a jirga would be summoned on Saturday against drone strikes, while the opposition was also told to ensure tribal elders’ presence for deciding the future course of action.

Earlier in the session, KP Assembly Speaker Babar Swati deferred the day’s agenda, saying he had done so due to an uptick in the number of drone strikes in the province.

“There is no end in sight to the [military] operations in our province,” he said.

Chief Minister’s Special Assistant on Information and Public Relations Shafi Jan alleged that the drone attacks were pre-planned, and “are being done to undermine only one political party”. Jan said the jirga summoned for Saturday would decide the future course of action — whether to march towards Islamabad or protest outside the KP Assembly or the National Assembly.

He added that the government had decided not to tolerate it anymore, reiterating the chief minister’s stance of not accepting the decisions taken behind closed doors.

“Hatred takes a second to spread but years to fade away,” he said.

MPA Ajmal Khan said the only permanent solution to the problem was a dialogue with Afghanistan. “We face the direct impact of the situation in Afghanistan. Islamabad and Kabul should continue talks, but Peshawar must be included,” Khan said.

PML-N’s Rashad Khan said the province was rich in minerals, forests and hydel power, but the law and order situation had destroyed the economy.

Treasury MPA Anwar Zeb Khan said that amid fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan, shells landed in civilian areas.

“Please give a ruling so that military camps in residential areas are relocated,” he requested the speaker.

Meanwhile, Awami National Party’s Muhammad Nisar stated that tribesmen had been suffering from drone strikes.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl Maulana Lutfur Rehman said the region had been facing a law and order situation for almost 30 years, adding that the economy could not improve without peace.

“Discussing our problems here in the House will never resolve issues,” he said. However, PPP’s Ahmad Karim Kundi contradicted Rehman, saying the right forum for resolving issues was the KP Assembly.

During the session, the House also passed three bills — the KP Assembly Powers, Immunities and Privileges Bill 2026; the KP Province Speaker and Deputy Speaker Immunities, Privileges, Salaries and Allowances Bill 2026; and the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province Salaries and Allowances of the members Bill 2026. The bills were tabled by Minister for Law Aftab Alam Afridi.

The sitting was later adjourned till 2pm on May 4.

The jirga organised on Tuesday by CM Afridi came following a drone strike in his native Khyber district, which claimed the life of a minor girl and injured six members of a family a day earlier. The family of the slain girl held a protest in Peshawar near the Hayatabad toll plaza, and were dispersed by violent police action.

The participants declared the civilian casualties from both terrorism and drone strikes were unacceptable, saying the people from tribal areas were paying a “double price”.

“Neither terrorism nor civilian deaths in drone strikes are acceptable,” they said, according to a statement issued by the CM’s media office. The participants also demanded an end to this cycle of violence, saying tribal districts could not be subjected to a condition in which they were simultaneously victims of militant violence and collateral damage from operations.

They also took exception to the classification of civilian casualties as “mistakes,” questioning why these so-called mistakes persistently occurred in populated areas, a participant of the meeting told Dawn on condition of anonymity.

• CM Afridi slams Centre over alleged baton charge on Imran’s sisters
• Insists he placed his political capital at stake by engaging with federal govt
• Session boycotted by opposition, except PPP
• House forms committee on gas rights under Article 158

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtu­nkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Wednesday criticised the federal government, insisting that his efforts to reduce political tensions were undermined as the sisters of PTI founder Imran Khan were allegedly subjected to baton charge a day after his engagement with the Centre.

Addressing the first-ever open-air sitting of the KP Assembly at the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium, with Speaker Babar Saleem Swati in the chair, the chief minister said he had placed his political capital at stake by engaging with the federal government in the hope of ending political discrimination.

He said Imran had ordered the cancellation of the April 9 public gathering in the larger national interest, but his sisters were subsequently denied a meeting with him.

“We did this for Pakistan, but you do not care about the country,” the chief minister said, adding that his party would continue its protest peacefully despite being “constantly cornered”.

He said he had written letters seeking permission to meet Imran Khan, but court orders in this regard were not implemented. He also claimed that Imran and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were facing health issues but had not complained despite Imran being in prison “for almost 1,000 days”.

The sitting, held in the open for the first time, was boycotted by opposition benches except for the PPP. Although the initiative aimed to allow public access to proceedings, entry remained restricted.

During the session, the assembly formed a special committee to examine concerns over the implementation of Article 158 of the Constitution, which guarantees provinces the first right to use their natural gas resources.

Members from the treasury benches complained that despite producing gas, the province continued to face shortages. They said districts such as Kohat and Karak, where gas is produced, were still deprived of basic supplies.

Treasury lawmaker Daud Shah informed the house that KP supplied around 50 per cent of the country’s oil and gas but still faced gas load management despite producing about 600 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) against a provincial consumption of 275 mmcfd.

The PPP’s Ahmad Karim Kundi called for a collective approach and emphasised the need for consultation to ensure implementation of Article 158.

KP Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi said the constitutional provision clearly granted priority rights to provinces over resources produced within their territory.

He stressed that a recent discovery in Kohat was the largest, producing 15,000 barrels per day and with the capacity to produce 25,000 barrels per day in the future.

The House also passed several resolutions, including one condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza and calling on the federal government to withdraw from the Gaza Peace Board.

It said that the continuous Israeli bombing of Gaza, targeting of hospitals, schools and refugee camps, and the killing of thousands of innocent children, women and civilians is a clear violation of international law and human rights.

Another resolution urged the federal government to engage in talks with Afghanistan, stressing that the situation in the neighbouring country directly affected KP. It also called on Kabul to ensure its territory was not used against Pakistan.

The assembly also expressed concern over inter-high-court transfers of judges, particularly regarding the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Through another resolution, the House demanded that the Supreme Court and the IHC immediately hear all the cases related to Imran Khan and other PTI leaders and workers.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2026

• Officials claim success in Hassan Khel operation
• Suggest several militants eliminated, their hideouts destroyed

PESHAWAR: Security forces, including police, army, Frontier Corps, and the Counter-Terrorism Department, conducted a successful intelligence-based joint operation against terrorists of Fitna al Khwarij — a term used by the state for the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan — in the Hassan Khel area on the outskirts of Peshawar and Kohat, officials said on Sunday.

According to senior officials, the operation was launched following intelligence reports about the presence of militants in the area after several recent attacks on law enforcement personnel. Two policemen were abducted and later martyred in the same locality last week, while attacks were also reported on police installations over the past three months.

“The military, the paramilitary force of Frontier Corps, the police, and the Counter-Terrorism Department carried out a coordinated operation against the militants,” a senior official said. He added that during an exchange of fire in the hilly Hassan Khel subdivision, several militants were injured while many were believed to be killed.

According to a statement issued by the city police, the operation was supervised by Peshawar Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Dr Mian Saeed Ahmed, along with senior military officials and SSP Operations Farhan Khan.

The statement said a coordinated strategy was adopted, with drone technology used effectively. Anti-drone guns were deployed to prevent drone attacks by militants, and sharpshooters equipped with sniper rifles also took part.

Officials said that, in addition to the military, the police’s anti-terrorism squad, elite force, and other specialised units participated in the offensive, and militant hideouts were destroyed.

According to the official statement, law enforcement personnel also repaired government property, including a gas pipeline, damaged by militants.

“Police, military, CTD, and other security agencies remain committed to completely eradicating militancy from the area and protecting the lives and property of the public through joint action against anti-state elements,” the statement read.

Hassan Khel, which sits on the border between Peshawar and Kohat districts, has witnessed several intelligence-based operations in the recent years aimed at dismantling militant groups. Several personnel of law-enforcement agencies have lost lives in the militant attacks in the area.

On April 13, policeman Munsif Azam was martyred and his body was recovered a day after his kidnapping by unidentified armed men from the Hassan Khel area. Azam was kidnapped only 72 hours after the abduction and killing of another policeman, Muqaddar Khan, in Hassan Khel. His body was found in the same area.

On Feb 8, police repelled a militant attack on checkpoints in Passani village, which borders the Hassan Khel subdivision. Earlier, on Nov 26, 2023, militants blew up a gas pipeline in the Hameed Khan Machine area, about five miles south of the Passani police post.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2026